Conventionally, during storage, transportation and production of display panels, necessary package cushioning structures must be used for purpose of fixation and protection. Particularly for large-sized display panels such as liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, they are usually arranged in the form of a stack and spaced apart from each other, so cushioning measures must be taken therebetween to prevent damage caused by impact.
Conventional solutions for package cushioning of the display panels are as follows:
Solution I: referring to FIG. 1, a corrugated cardboard 110 is dented, die cut, bonded, interdigitated and assembled, and is then put into a corrugated carton having both a cover and a bottom to cushion the display panels. Although this solution is environmental friendly, it has the following disadvantages: the corrugated cardboard is relatively stiff; when the carton drops onto the ground, corners of the display panels in contact with the corrugated cardboard are liable to deformation; furthermore, because the manufacturing process is complex and entirely relies on manual operation, it is time- and labor-consuming.
Solution II: referring to FIG. 2, a board 210 made of a low-density expandable polyethylene (EPE) is die cut and bonded, and then put into a corrugated carton 220 having both a cover and a bottom to cushion the display panels. This solution is environmental friendly and has a satisfactory cushioning effect. However, as the cushioning structure is made of the low-density EPE, spacings between the display panels cannot be made to be too small: because of the soft nature of EPE, a too small spacing would cause the display panels to collide with each other.
Solution III: referring to FIG. 3, for large-sized display panels of 42 inches and above, a cushioning structure made of a corrugated cardboard described above in Solution I or the EPE board 310 described above in Solution II is put into a paper mount 320 for cushioning purpose and then, as a whole, they are put into a corrugated carton having a cover but no bottom. This solution is advantageously suitable for package cushioning of large-sized display panels of 42 inches and above. Because the carton for package cushioning has a cover but no bottom, display panels are firstly put into the lower cushioning structure and then the carton is put on the lower cushioning structure; when the display panels are to be removed, operations can be performed in a reverse order. This solution makes it convenient to remove the display panels and also have the advantages of Solution I and Solution II described above. However, because the paper mount 320 has a certain thickness, so it occupies a certain amount of space in the width direction; furthermore, the paper mount 320 is more expensive than the cardboard, so this solution has the disadvantages of both Solution I and Solution II described above.
Solution IV: referring to FIG. 4, a box is made of an expandable polystyrene (EPS) material 410 to directly provide a cushioning effect. This solution is advantageous in that EPS is cheaper than EPE and the corrugated cardboard. However, it is not environmental friendly; especially, because use of EPS is prohibited in some countries, this may have an influence on export of products adopting such a package cushioning design. Additionally, EPS has a poorer cushioning performance than the corrugated cardboard and EPE.
Solution V: referring to FIG. 5, a cushioning structure is formed by attaching a low-density EPE structure 520 to a high-density EPE structure 510. This solution is advantageously suitable for large-sized display panels. Also, the carton for package cushioning has a cover but no bottom, so when display panels are to be put therein, display panels are firstly put into the lower cushioning structure and then the carton is put on the lower cushioning structure; and when the display panels are to be removed, operations can be performed in a reverse order. This solution makes it convenient to remove the display panels and has a satisfactory cushioning effect; furthermore, spacings between the display panels can be made to be smaller than when only the low-density EPE is used as a cushioning structure. However, this solution has the following disadvantages: use of the high-density cushioning structure 510 and the low-density cushioning structure 520 in combination leads to a complex production process that comprises too many steps, which drives the labor cost to be much higher; moreover, the high-density EPE structure 510 is costly, which makes the cost of the whole cushioning structure relatively high.
Additionally, the present inventor has also noted that, China Patent Application No. 200810070860.7 has disclosed a package cushioning structure, which comprises a corrugated cardboard and an elastic cushion. The corrugated cardboard is formed with a through-hole or a cutout, and the elastic cushion partially passes through the through-hole of the corrugated cardboard or is inserted into the cutout of the corrugated cardboard so that the elastic cushion and the corrugated cardboard are fixed together. This is convenient for assembly or removal.